I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be close to/on the verge of tears (= be almost crying )
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He could see that May was close to tears.
be on the brink/verge of extinction (= be at the point of almost not existing )
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The Siberian crane is on the verge of extinction due to hunting.
be on the brink/verge of ruin (= be close to ruin )
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The recession could leave many businesses on the brink of ruin.
be on the verge/edge of a nervous breakdown (= to be very close to having a nervous breakdown )
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These events left her on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
grass verge British English (= area of grass next to a road )
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He stopped the car on the grass verge of the deserted road.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
grass
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Then the vans were manoeuvred on to the grass verge so that the new vehicle could come by.
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He thought he must have passed out on the grass verge .
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The accident happened on a busy dual carriageway when the transporter hit a grass verge and landed on top of one of the cars.
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It hit a grass verge and virtually took off.
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The man was standing on the grass verge watching her.
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Often it was not, and the grass verge was very much wider on one side than the other.
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A battalion of infantry that was marching towards the cabriolet shuffled on to the grass verge .
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The car lurched to the right, mounted the grass verge , and ploughed through the safety barrier.
road
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Grass road verges have almost vanished, whittled away by the volume of traffic and the inexorable weight of tractor wheels.
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The council had recently authorised an adjoining owner to construct and pave an access way over part of the road verge .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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And adults do not need to be on the verge of shouting or crying for these mechanisms to be involved.
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Binyomin and Tsila had not only kissed but were on the verge of becoming man and wife in earnest.
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Born in 1930, so she must be on the verge of retirement now.
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Doyle swerved, running the car on to the right hand verge , and braked hard.
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Flocks of large black-and-white birds shifted in unison across the middle of the roundabouts and along roadside verges, probing for worms.
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He and his wife Brooke Hayward were on the verge of divorce - they finally split up in 1969.
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In those years, I believed I was on the verge of a major discovery.
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Now Carter is on the verge of burning brighter than the Olympic flame.
II. verb
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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After overheating in 1989, the market may be verging on the over-cautious today.
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At times these adjustments verge on sharp practice enabled by the fact that ingredients do not have to be revealed.
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Domestically produced cars are overpriced while prices for imported cars verge on the absurd.
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In the case of Essex and Keith Fletcher it may well verge on the impossible.
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That seemed a sober judgment not even verging on hyperbole.
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Their desire to play an expansive game is often dangerous, verging on the suicidal.